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"Some birds aren't meant to be caged, their feathers are just too bright"- Morgan Freeman, Shawshank Redemption. This blog is from one such bird who couldn't be caged by organizations who mandate scripted software testing. Pradeep Soundararajan welcomes you to this blog and wishes you a good time here and even otherwise.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Why do you need to be a Tester? Wherever you are …

Hi Reader,

In the past few days I have had great learning and I am trying to digest it before I present it for you. In the mean time I would like to share one of the incident where my testing skills came handy for a problem that was not solved for quite sometime.

__ Why do you need to be a Tester? Wherever you are … __

One of my cousins joined an Ozone System Manufacturing company and his first task was to inspect a few systems that had been installed. While his inspection and training, he was briefed about a problem that occurred frequently with the system that was costing more on maintenance.

The Ozone system in short –

A Shell containing electrodes forms the heart of the system. An inlet pipes takes in oxygen from an oxygen cylinder/pump and another inlet to the shell takes in potable water to form a water-cooling circuit, which is shielded from the electrodes. When a high voltage is passed to the electrodes and oxygen mixed in particular proportion ozone oozes out through the outlet pipe. Did I forget to inform you that a Teflon envelope covers the Aluminian Electrodes?

Now the problem is (was) –

The Teflon envelope, which had a guarantee of 6 months, was facing fatigue and had to be replaced every month in order to produce efficient ozone production.

My cousin is one among those who is confident about my Testing skills and took special permission from his manager to allow me to visit a real time plant. The excitement within me was at peak and especially when I came to know that I would be inspecting the ozone plant of a very famous Multiplex in Bangalore, excitement shot up further.

Testing skills put to use – (this way, down)

Phase – 1 (Study)

* Started off studying the system, theory part of course.* Being an Instrumentation Engineer (as per my degree certificate), I put the theory learnt to use by inspecting the meters and its calibration.* Asked the personnel who are in the maintenance job to explain me the process of maintenance they carry over.* Asked the personnel to show me some sample Teflon envelops – both new ones and the ones that had given up their life.

Phase – 2 (Analysis)

I made an analysis between the documented maintenance procedure and the procedure in practice, later observed and informed the deviation with the two.

I made an analysis that the water-cooling circuit could be the culprit since in any engineering plant when water-cooling system is deployed a problem of corrosion/rust comes into picture. ( Although Teflon is non corrosive …)

I also observed a salt formation over Teflon and hence suggested to scrap the salt formed over and subject it to a chemistry lab test to find out what is the chemical composition of the salt. Of course this result could let anyone know who is any other culprit if any.

Phase – 3 (My progression towards bettering my testing skills)

I admitted that my suggestions are limited to my understanding of the system and my understanding could not be exhaustive as I spent only some time on it. Also I asked them not to put my suggestions to work on a real infrastructure whereas to go ahead and implement my suggestions on an emulated infrastructure, Test it for a month before taking it into the real time infrastructure.(I should be thanking James Bach here without whom I would have taken a longer time to put such good things into my Testing virtue.)

__ Why do you need to be a Tester? Wherever you are … __

“When a Tester is walking on a road, stay away, he might be Testing the tar laid on …”

Regards,

Pradeep SoundararajanPradeep.srajan@gmail.comDisclaimer: The study, analysis and recommendations are crunched to make it ASAP (As Sweet As Possible). It is a fact that there are enough testing challenges in this world but un attempted due to lack of good quality testers. I am not trying to mean I am a better good quality Tester but for sure I am at least progressing towards it. Who is joining me?

Well, i got what ur trying to say... and system that was costing more on maintenance... it is pathetic and hard to believe that none of the maintenance personnel or its design persons do not know or forget the concept of salt formation.

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